doublethink
holding two contradictory beliefs at the same time
TRANSLATION
doublethink = widersprüchliches Denken, illusorisches denken; Doppeldenk (Orwell "1984")
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
It was an act of DOUBLETHINK to make Orwell proud. Yesterday afternoon Alexis Tsipras, Greece’s prime minister, told his parliament that he was “determined” to stick to the February 20th agreement with the euro zone that extended Greece’s bail-out by four months. He immediately proceeded to urge MPs to pass a “humanitarian” law providing food stamps and subsidized energy to Greece’s needy.
The Economist
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You don't have to watch it (Fox News) very long to realize that these people are peddling propaganda, opinion dressed up as fact. They have invented a clever motto – "fair and balanced" – to distract viewers from the reality of their Orwellian DOUBLETHINK.
(Jim Goldsborough - Union Tribune)
The Economist
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You don't have to watch it (Fox News) very long to realize that these people are peddling propaganda, opinion dressed up as fact. They have invented a clever motto – "fair and balanced" – to distract viewers from the reality of their Orwellian DOUBLETHINK.
(Jim Goldsborough - Union Tribune)
Did you
know?
Doublethink
noun
'Doublethink' was invented by George Orwell in his famous 1949 novel "1984".
It describes thought marked by the acceptance of contradictions and lies, especially when used as a technique of self-indoctrination.
Doublethink is the ability to hold two contradictory opinions at the same time without noticing the contradiction.
It also refers to the mind trick to accept the changes to history made by the Party, and in accepting them, forgetting that the mind trick was ever performed, and then forgetting the forgetting, etc.
Orwell describes it thus:
"The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them....To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies.
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Examples:
- A politician speaks of integrity, yet uses personal influence to financial gain.
- A sales person convinces himself that his company products are the very best, yet personally prefers a competitor's product.
noun
'Doublethink' was invented by George Orwell in his famous 1949 novel "1984".
It describes thought marked by the acceptance of contradictions and lies, especially when used as a technique of self-indoctrination.
Doublethink is the ability to hold two contradictory opinions at the same time without noticing the contradiction.
It also refers to the mind trick to accept the changes to history made by the Party, and in accepting them, forgetting that the mind trick was ever performed, and then forgetting the forgetting, etc.
Orwell describes it thus:
"The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them....To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies.
---
Examples:
- A politician speaks of integrity, yet uses personal influence to financial gain.
- A sales person convinces himself that his company products are the very best, yet personally prefers a competitor's product.
